The study was performed in order to determine the effect of venous pressure elevation induced by unilateral partial renal venous ligation upon total renal blood flow and filtration fraction in the dog kidney. An anaesthesia with no known inhibitory effect on sympathetically mediated vasoconstriction was used. During control conditions instantaneous increase in renal venous pressure to 60 mmHg induced a decrease in renal blood flow (66 +/- 4%) corresponding to an ipsilateral vasoconstriction which was completely abolished following (1) surgical denervation of the kidney, (2) local alpha-receptor blockade of the kidney, and (3) application of lidocaine on the kidney surface. The most striking feature during step increase in renal venous pressure to 40 mmHg was an increase in renal vascular conductance. Renal venous pressure elevation of more than 40 mmHg induced a vasoconstriction, but the vasoconstrictor response was less pronounced as compared with that observed during instantaneous increase in renal venous pressure to the same level. The results strongly suggest that venous stasis of more than 40 mmHg activates an adrenergic sympathetic vasoconstrictor reflex comprising the spinal cord. The reflex is probably elicited from stretch receptors located in the renal capsule. Changes in filtration fraction at venous stasis during the experimental conditions indicate that renal venous pressure elevation activates mechanisms other than neural ones accounting for the reduction in the filtration fraction.